The Needs of the Older People for Services from the Social Welfare System in the Republic of Croatia

U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja potreba za uslugama iz sustava socijalne skrbi starijih osoba koje se provodilo pri centrima za socijalnu skrb. U istraživanju je sudjelovala 3 001 osoba, a obuhvaćene su bile sve županije u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje je provedeno s ciljem utvrđivanja potreba za uslugama iz sustava socijalne skrbi, a u svrhu poboljšanja kvalitete života starijih osoba. U radu su prikazana socio-demografska obilježja anketiranih starijih osoba, obiteljsko stanje, članovi kućanstva, podrška djece, izvori prihoda, imovinsko i zdravstveno stanje, funkcionalno stanje, prava koja ostvaruju iz sustava socijalne skrbi te potrebe za uslugama koje nedostaju. Ispitanici smatraju da su usluge pomoći u kući najpotrebnije, ali isto tako postoji značajan interes za uslugom institucionalnog smještaja. Postoje razlike u potrebama za uslugama skrbi s obzirom na veličinu mjesta. Prikupljeni podaci predstavljaju empirijsku podlogu za sustav socijalne skrbi o starijim osobama u donošenju strateških dokumenata kojima je potrebno zaštiti ovu ranjivu populaciju.The paper presents the results of the research on the needs of the older people for services from the social welfare system, which was conducted at social welfare centres. 3001 people from all Croatian regions or counties participated in the research. The research was conducted with the aim of determining the needs for services from the social welfare system, in order to improve the quality of life of the older people. The paper presents the socio-demographic characteristics of the surveyed older people, their marital status, number of household members, support provided by their children, sources of income, property and health status, functional status, rights exercised from the social welfare system and the need for missing services. Respondents feel that they need home help services the most, but there is also a significant interest in institutional accommodation services. There are differences in the needs for care services, depending on how big is the respondent\u27s place of living. The collected data represent the empirical basis for the social welfare system on the older people, aiming to serve as help in adoption of strategic documents that need to protect this vulnerable population